The Georgia Statewide Forest Resources Assessment and Strategy was submitted to USDA Forest Service on June 17, 2010. Thank you to everyone involved in the process of creating this document.

Executive Summary

Assessment

Strategy


Georgia Statewide Forest Resources Assessment and Strategy
The 2008 Farm Bill requires state forestry agencies to complete a Statewide Forest Resources Assessment and Strategy by June 2010. This Assessment will provide a comprehensive analysis of forest-related conditions, trends, threats and opportunities in the state and delineate priorities within rural and urban forest landscapes. Additionally, states must develop long term strategies for investing federal, state and other resources to manage these identified priority landscapes and issues while meeting national, regional and state themes or guidance. The Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) anticipates a draft will be ready for public review and comment in April.

The GFC has worked collaboratively with key partners and stakeholders such as the Forest Stewardship Coordinating Committee, State Technical Committee and the Urban Forest Council. Furthermore, key partners in numerous disciplines were invited to provide program-specific input for forest health, stewardship, conservation easements, water quality, marketing and utilization, sustainable community forestry and wildlife.  Forest inventory and analysis (FIA) data will serve as a basis for current forest data. As the assessment and strategies are developed, they will incorporate major plans already in place such as the State Wildlife Action Plan, Community Wildfire Protection Plan and the Southern Wildfire Risk Assessment. This will allow seamless integration with existing statewide efforts already underway in Georgia.

The GFC has contracted with the University of Georgia to develop geospatial data layers to be used to identify priority areas. Issues identified in the 2008 Forest Management Sustainability Report will be used as the foundation for strategy development.


Georgia's Sustainability Report
Due to population growth projections and the potential effects on forest resources, the 2005 Georgia General Assembly created a joint “Future of Forestry” study committee. The committee was charged to prepare a comprehensive plan for Georgia to sustain and expand the benefits of its 24+ million acres of forest land and forest products industry.

One of the primary recommendations of the report was for the state to investigate the benefits of developing a procedure to allow for “sustainable forest” labeling to be placed on Georgia forest products. The committee also directed the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) to certify to the General Assembly the sustainability of the state’s forest resources through a report every five years. Subsequently, the 2007 General Assembly requires the GFC to verify this sustainability which is defined as the ability of the forest resources in this state to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability to meet the needs of the future. With the assistance of many individuals from a number of organizations, the initial report was submitted to the General Assembly on July 1, 2008.

The report found that the state’s forests are currently being sustainably managed. To ensure our forests will continue to meet the ever increasing demands of future generations, many challenges must be met. Success will depend on proactive decisions by our state leaders and the entire forestry community addressing a myriad of forestry–related issues such as urban sprawl, ownership and management objective change, forest land valuations, economics of traditional and emerging forest markets, water quality and quantity, air quality, biodiversity, fire management, forest health and forest land conservation.



Resources
Sustainable Forest Management in Georgia Report (2008)

State Assessment and Strategy Resource Center
http://www.fs.fed.us/spf/redesign/resourcecenter.shtml

2008 Farm Bill - Title VIII Forestry
http://www.ers.usda.gov/FarmBill/2008/Titles/TitleVIIIForestry.htm

Forest Inventory and Analysis National Program
http://www.fia.fs.fed.us/